- Home
- Hansard & Papers
- Legislative Council
- 29 October 2003
Dungog Shire Roads
Printing Tips |
Print selected text
| Full Day Hansard Transcript
« Prior Item |
Item 57 of 60
| Next Item »
Page: 4326
The Hon. ROBYN PARKER [10.40 p.m.]: In a previous adjournment debate I spoke about the terrible bridges in Dungog. Fortunately, action has been taken on some of those bridges—although I suspect that this will be an ongoing story. Another ongoing story in Dungog is the state of its roads. Anyone who has travelled over Dungog roads in the past few years will attest that one puts one's transmission and sometimes one's life in danger doing so. Since the deregulation of the dairy industry we have encouraged tourism in Dungog through farmstay and other ventures.
Sadly, tourists travelling to Dungog and in Dungog shire find themselves driving into potholes so huge that they have to change gears in order to drive back out. Last week the Newcastle Herald reported NRMA chief Ross Turnbull as labelling the Hunter as the most dangerous region in the State for motorists. By region, more deaths and injuries occur on roads in the Hunter than anywhere else in the State. The NRMA is working on a plan to lobby the State Government to increase its share of road funding. At present, the State Government is spending more on Sydney roads than on regional roads—something that does not surprise me. In this year's budget the Premier, Mr Carr, slashed the maintenance package allocation to rural and regional roads.
In 2002 Minister Scully stated that 79 per cent of the year's maintenance package would be spent on rural and regional roads. This year, only 60 per cent of the capital and maintenance budget will be allocated to rural and regional roads. Furthermore, the Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] has recognised that the arterial road network is ageing and that many roads are reaching the end of their serviceable life. It stated that these roads are facing increasing traffic pressure. Why then is the Government not spending more money to combat the problem? Road conditions and safety concerns are important issues facing regional communities as roads carry the heaviest traffic and are relied on not just for general transport but also for business and industry. The State Government is responsible for meeting routine maintenance costs for regional roads, but the RTA's Regional Road Repair Program funding of $2 million is grossly inadequate for the 940 kilometres of regional roads in the Hunter.
Dungog, for example, has about 13 per cent of all regional roads in the Hunter, and the length of regional roads in Dungog shire alone is greater than the combined length of regional roads in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Maitland. However, the combined total road funding for Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Maitland is $261 million compared with Dungog's $7 million. With councils made to compete for funding according to benefit cost ratio analysis, about 95 per cent of our regional roads are rendered ineligible for repair. That problem is worse for shires like Dungog, which does not have a State road and has not been provided with adequate funding for maintenance since the previously poorly maintained roads were transferred to the care of council in 1995. At that time 134 kilometres of substandard main roads in Dungog shire became 107 kilometres of regional roads and 27 kilometres of local roads.
Dungog shire inherited a significant backlog of road works. The requirement for councils to contribute 50 per cent towards rehabilitation costs on regional roads is an unfunded mandate. Councils are provided with no new income for that purpose and they have to go begging to the State Government for funding support. Fortunately, the Federal Government has assisted with black-spot funding, but there is an increasing need for a regular maintenance program and funding regime to ensure that roads in Dungog are up to standard. They are certainly nowhere near the standards that we have come to expect in other cities in the Sydney Basin. With ongoing funding for maintenance of regional roads not forthcoming from the State Government, Dungog shire now fully realises how poorly it has been treated compared to the rest of New South Wales. Shame!
Last modified 05/12/2007 16:32:44 : Update this page